Can-cleaning machine.



No. 645,|38. Patented Mar. I3. |900. C. W. SLEEPER.

CAN CLEANING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 15, 1899.) (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT CEEICE.

CHARLES XV. SLEEPER, OF LANCASTER, NEV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNCR TO THE SLEEPER MACHNE COMPANY, OF MAINE.

CAN-CLEANING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 645,138, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed November l5, 1899. -Serial No. 737,043. (No model.)

T0 all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that l, CHARLES WV. SLEEPER, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Lancaster, in the county of Coos and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Can-Cleaning Machine, of which the following is aspeciiication.

In the process of packing meats and lish the cans become coated with an oily substance which gives them adirty appearance and interferes with the process of labeling by preventing the paste from adhering to the cans. Enameled or decorated cans cannot be washed in any fluid which would dissolve the oil, as suchfiuid would destroy the decorations. The usual process of cleaning is to cover the cans with sawdust or other similar absorbent inaterial and tumble them aboutin the sawdust until the oil is taken up. The cans are then removed from the sawdust, which may be used over again until it becomes saturated with the oil.

The object of my invention is to provide suitable automatic mechanism .for conducting this process, such mechanism consisting, essentially,in means fortumbling the cans and the sawdust together in acylinder, means for feeding the cans and the sawdust into the cylinder, means for separating the cleaned cans from the sawdust, and means for returning the sawdust to the cylinder.

Figure l is a side elevation of my machine with a portion of the con veyer-trough broken away to show the chains and bars within. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same with the cylinder C and a part of the can-conveyer A removed. Fig. 3 is a front view of same with the can-conveyer A removed and a portion of the elevator-box broken away to show the Fig. 4is a transa a3, to which are secured a series of bars d4.

adapted to engage the cans to be cleaned. The chains a3 pass over sprocket-wheels a5 in the lower end of trough a. Upon the shaft d is a gear a, which is engaged by a pinion (not shown) 'upon the shaft ai, upon which is a sprocket-wheel a8,driven by a chain a9,which is engaged by a sprocket-wheel al@ upon the main shaft a, The shaft a is provided with a pulley cl2 to receive a suitable driving-belt. The conveyer A may be moved about the shaft a to bring the trough a to any convenient position to receive the cans.

The sawdust-elevator B consists of the elevator boxes, chains, buckets, and driving mechanism, described as follows:

b b are two upright pipes or boxes rectangular in cross-section, connected at top andbottom by cross-sections of 'similar form, so as to form a continuous trough or elevatorbox, the bottom section being open at the top and the top section being open at the bottom.

Four pairs of sprocket-wheels vb'. are arranged to carry a pair of endless chains b2, (similar to chains 603,) and between the chains b2 are a series of elevator-buckets b3, arranged to take the sawdust from the bottom of the elevator-box and drop it from the top of the box into a chute b4, which4 ishung between the upright boxes b b and enters the head of the cylinder C.

The elevator-chains are driven by sprocketwhe'els 'upon the shaft b5, upon which is a bevel-gear be, (see Figs. l and 2,) engaged by a pinion 197 upon the shaft bs, which carries a sprocket-wheel b9, engaged by the chain a9.

The cylinder C is composed of a shell c, head o', rings c2 c3, bars c4, and screen c5. The head c partly closes one end of lthe shell c, leaving a circular opening about two-thirds the diameter of the shell, and c is provided with a flange c. The ring c2 is provided with gear-teeth and encircles the shell c. Barsa4 are attached to the inner surface of the shell c, parallel with its axis, and project a little more than one-half its length, the outer ends being secured to the ring c3. Between the rings c2 and csa heavy wire screen c5 is wound over the bars c4, forming an extension of the shell c. R

The cylinder C rests upon four rollers cT upon the shafts e8 ci. A guide-roll 01 engages the flange c6 to prevent the cylinder from sliding endwise upon the rolls.

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The shaft o8 carries a gear 011, which engages the teeth upon the ring c2 to rotate the cylinder.

AA bevel-gear cl2, Figs. l and 3, upon the shaft cB is engaged by a bevel-pinion cl3 upon the. main shaft au.

The shafts c8 o9 and the guide-roll G10 are journaled in suitable hangers C14 015, which rest upon the frame of the machine.

A chute c16 is secured to the frame of the machine and arranged to receive the cans as they come from the cylinder C.

The sawdust-conveyer D is composed of a conveyer trough, chains, and driving mechanism described as follows:

d is aconveyer-trough, and d' d are guide,- rails placed above the trough d and connected with the same by heads in which are journaled the shafts d2 d3, each of which carries two sprocket-wheels d4. Two endless chains d5 pass over the sprocket-wheels d4, and between the chains is secured a series of bars-d6. The shaft d3 carries a gear d'7, engaged by a pinion ds upon a shaft d, which carries a sprocketwheel d10, engaged by a chain du, passing over a sprocket wheel dl2 upon the main shaft au. A hopper @Z13 is provided to guide the sawdust into the trough CZ.

In operation, the machine being in motion, a sufcient quantity of sawdust is put into the hopper d and carried by the conveyor D to the elevator B. The cans are placed upon the conveyer-chains in the trough of the conveyer A, which carries them up and drops them into the chute b4. At the same time the elevator. B drops a quantity of sawdust into the chute b4 and upon the cans as they pass down the chute, and the cans and .sawdust together enter the cylinder C, where they are tumbled over and over by the bars c4 as the cylinder revolves.

In consequence `of the inclined position of the cylinder the cans move gradually downward and over the screen, the sawdust droppingthrough the meshes of the screen into the hopper below to beused over again, while the cans pass out 'throughV the-chute o16 into any convenient receptacle.

That I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A machine for cleaning cans consisting of an inclined hollow cylinder terminating at its lower end in a screen, with means for rotating the same, means -for feeding cans into the cylinder, means for feeding sawdust, or

othersimilar absorbent material, into said cylinder, and means for conveying suchV absorbent material after it has passed through the cylinder t0 said feeding mechanism last mentioned, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for cleaning cans an inclined hollow cylinder terminating at its lower end in a screen with means for rotating the same, in combination with a chute opening into the upper end of said cylinder, means for feeding the cans into said chute and means for feeding sawdust into the saine, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for cleaning cans an inclined hollow cylinder terminating at its lower end in a screen, with means for rotating the same, in combination with means for removing the sawdust falling from the lower end of the cylinder and feeding the same into the upper end of the cylinder7 substantially as described'.

4. In a machine for cleaning cans, in combination with an inclined hollow cylinder terminating at its lower end in a screen,with means for rotating the same, the sawdustelevator B consisting of the elevator-trough h, b having its upper horizontal limb open on its lower side over the chute b4, endless ele-' vator-chain's b2, buckets b3, sprocket-wheels b', chute b4, and means for operating said chains, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for cleaning cans, in combination with au inclined hollow cylinder, terminating at its lower end in a screen, with means for rotating the same, the sawdustconveyer D and elevator B consisting of the hopper da, conveyer-trough d, endless chains d, bars d, sprocket-wheels d4,elevatortrough .6, b, endless elevator-chains b2, buckets Z13,

sprocket-wheels b', chute b4, and means for operating said conveyer-chains and elevatorchains, the several parts being so constructed and arranged with reference to each other that when in operation the sawdust dropping from the screen c5 is carried by the conveyer D into the elevator B and thence into the upper end ofthe cylinder C, substantiallyas` described.-

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES W. SLEEPER.

Witnesses:

ONEIL TWITCHELL, F. H. TwiTcHELL.

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